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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-21 Work SessionMeridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 21, 2020, by Mayor Robert Simison. Members Present: Robert Simison, Luke Cavener, Treg Bernt, Jessica Perreault, Brad Hoaglun and Liz Strader. Members Absent: Joe Borton. Also present: Chris Johnson, Bill Nary, Cameron Arial, Mark Ford, Joe Bongiorno and Dean Willis. Item 1: Roll-call Attendance: __X__ Liz Strader _____ Joe Borton __X__ Brad Hoaglun __X__ Treg Bernt __X__ Jessica Perreault __X__ Luke Cavener (joined 5:00) __X__ Mayor Robert E. Simison A. Meridian Development Corporation Board of Commissioners __X___Dave Winder – Chairman __X___Dan Basalone - Member ______Nathan Mueller – Vice-Chairman ______Tammy de Weerd – Member ______Steve Vlassek– Secretary/Treasurer __X___Rob McCarvel – Member __X___Diane Bevan – Member __X___Treg Bernt – Member __X___Kit Fitzgerald - Member __X___Todd Lakey – Counsel (joined 4:40 p.m.) __X___Ashley Squyres – Administrator Simison: I will call this meeting to order. For the record it is July 21st, 2020, at 4:30 p.m. We will begin this joint meeting with roll call attendance. Johnson: Mr. Mayor, would Ashley like to call her meeting to order prior? Winder: Mr. Mayor, if I may do that. Simison: Mr. Winter, go ahead. Winder: Yeah. So, on behalf of the Meridian Development Corporation I would like to call to order this joint meeting between the City of Meridian and -- the City Council and Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 2 of 15 the Meridian Development Corporation and also ask the clerk to call roll on our behalf as well. Item 2: Adoption of Agenda Simison: Okay. Item No 2 is adoption the agenda. Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: I move that we adopt the agenda as presented. Hoaglun: Second the motion. Simison: I have a motion and a second to adopt the agenda as published for the Meridian City Council. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay. The ayes. The agenda is adopted. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. Item 3: Joint Meeting Between City of Meridian City Council and Meridian Development Corporation A. Civic Block Project Update Simison: Item No. 3 is a joint meeting between Meridian City Council and Meridian Development Corporation. Item 3-A is the Civic Block Project Update. I will turn this over to Cameron to start it off. Arial: Everybody hear me okay? Awesome. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Members of the Joint Council and Board. It's a pleasure to be with you. I want to make sure Dean can hear me okay as well. Cool. It's a -- it's a pleasure to be with you all. It's a -- it's exciting times in downtown as many of you know and as a -- kind of an executive committee we will kind of talk through a number of things, but we felt like it was appropriate and timely to come before you and give you this update. The purpose of this update really is to give you some context. Many of you are -- some may be new to our efforts -- joint efforts. Some of you, obviously, not, but felt like that additional context would be appropriate. It would also be somewhat of a -- you know, an opportunity to seek feedback from you all and, then, it's also an accountability measure from us, just given where we are in the process and where, you know, we would -- we would like to be heading to make sure that we are doing all that we can to move our effo rts forward. So, with that I'm going to kind of dive in just to some context for you all. What this -- this meeting is not is we are not seeking any action at this time, but we truly are wanting to seek the Council, as well as the Board's, input into our process and make sure that we are incorporating it where -- where appropriate. So, the -- kind of the timely thing is just giving you some -- some background. Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 3 of 15 The city and MDC, you know, have been working on joint efforts in the downtown for -- for a number of years. We -- we have been working in regards to the city's strategic plan and comprehensive plans and even the newly minted Comprehensive Plan and also as the city's formulating its new strategic plan the downtown continues to be a focus. This also is evidenced as well by the MDC Destination Downtown plan as a focus for our joint efforts and I must say we are jointly pleased with the progress . As you guys know -- we won't list the exhaustive list, but there is a lot of great things happening in our downtown that really are noteworthy and that we are very proud of -- proud of those efforts. But as you know back in August of 2019 the city issued in -- in concert with the MDC board a joint RFP to basically redevelop what we now call the Civic Block. So, it's the -- the Idaho- Broadway and area between 2nd and 3rd Streets. And so that process was kicked off and there is a timeline included in the middle there that if you are -- you know, if we want to talk through any of those logistics. But there is a, you know, significant effort since that time to move this particular part of town forward in the redevelopment efforts. Based on the responses of that RFP it was unanimously decided to select the Galena Opportunity Fund -- Galena as our partner in -- in this redevelopment effort and, you know, through various processes and -- and their response, the use of tax increment finance was suggested as a potential funding mechanism. So , with that in mind, you know, we -- we looked jointly at the downtown urban renewal area that sunsets in 2026. So, a short time horizon there, and it became clear that we needed to create a new district to extend the life of that to -- to make some of our redevelopment efforts a reality. Our partner Galena Fund, we have Bill Truax on the line. You will -- you will hear from him in a moment. But the Galena Fund did fund an effort to analyze that area and -- and as you are aware that -- that was completed recently at the end of July. So, we are -- we are very pleased that we are on track with that effort. It was -- it was a Herculean effort with a lot of people involved. So, glad to report the success of the -- the creation of the new Union District. Also, you know, the -- I mentioned the executive committee, which is, essentially, the members of the Community Development Department of the city, also Parks and Rec Department, city attorneys -- city attorney -- city attorney's office, MDC, and, then, the Galena Fund and, then, we will pull in others as needed -- has been meeting essentially weekly since the RFP was adopted and so those efforts continue to go forward in earnest. Two of our major tasks, of course, were to establish that new district, so we can check that box. And also is the ongoing design and effort to plan and move forward the implementation of the -- the Civic Block. A big part of that, obviously, is the city's portion of that, which is the -- the community center and I will give a brief commentary about that in a moment, as well as, you know, potential residential-commercial uses on that block, parking, and potential open space in that area is envisioned. So, with that I'm just going to dive into kind of the Community Development piece of this. This -- as you are aware there are many people involved in this. We continue to reach out to our partners at the library district, VRT, COMPASS. The Downtown Business Association. It's good to see that Lindsay is on with us and the Chamber of Commerce, who, obviously, have a vested interest, either directly or indirectly, in -- in the redevelopment of our downtown. So, we wanted to note that the -- our involvement, not only as a committee, but also with our stakeholders has been -- has been very involved. We have been particularly looking for parking solutions. Also for transit potential -- or integration and also, you know, very pleased -- I know many of you are aware, but pleased at the progress with the reopening Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 4 of 15 of Unbound, the new -- the library district's Unbound location on the Civic Block, which is moving forward in earnest. So, we are pleased with -- with those efforts. Community Development also, you know, Tori Cleary in particular has been working with the Parks and Rec Department, Finance, and others to develop a pro forma and business plan for the community center with Parks and Rec truly leading the charge there. So, a lot of efforts there from Steve and Garrett to -- to really form up a plan in that regard. Speaking on behalf of Parks -- I know that Steve is available for questions later, but a lot of effort has been done on their -- on their side of the house. A lot of site visits here locally. COVID kind of threw a wrench in their efforts to go south. They had some plans to go to Utah and visit some community centers there, but they have been able to do a lot of that research over the internet and through connection there, but really just trying to research and understand how best to form and function a community center. So, a lot of -- a lot of effort there. And as many of you are aware as well, we did do a presentation to the Parks and Rec Commission here at the beginning of July. It was good to get their feedback and, you know, they appreciated that update as well and we will continue to work with them on the -- on the parks and rec side of -- of the Civic Block project. So, with that I'm going to kick it over to Ashley for a portion of the MDC update. If we can get her unmuted. Squyres: I realized that about five words in. Sorry about that. Honorable Mayor, Members of the Council and MDC Board Members, appreciate the opportunity for this joint meeting today. I'm going to keep our update fairly brief and as Cameron has mentioned with the approval of the Union District on June 9th we are official and thank you all for your hard work on this. We are very appreciative. So, with the creation of that district this allows our agency to be able to entertain agreements with a developer or a developer in the form of either a development agreement and/or an owner participation agreement. The purpose of those agreements will outline what site improvements would be reimbursed with MDC either through general fund dollars or through the TIF that the project actually generates itself. So, in order to enter into the agreement there are a number of items that need to be provided or completed by the applicant and that includes a -- an approved development plan. We need enough project details and approvals for the project. We actually need a formal request from the developer and how they believe they are in compliance with our specific plan for the district. They also need to give us an estimated cost. So, we have something to gauge by as we are looking at reimbursements to a developer and, then, the board would ultimately have to approve this and they do have the ability to say yea or nay if they don't believe it actually fits wit hin the vision of what the district was created for. So, the timing -- we are starting conversations with the developer, start outlining the process, the information that's needed, but I don't believe we will probably have any sort of agreements in place for a few months. They need to get to that level of detail that I think we can move forward with, but that will -- we will see. We are inviting Cameron and his team to -- to at least understand where we are in our process and just making sure that the communication is flowing from both the city and MDC. So, we are committed to working with Galena. They have been great to work with us so far and I think this is going to be a good partnership moving forward. So , with that I'm going to bounce it back to Cameron and I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any. Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 5 of 15 Arial: Thank you, Ashley. Appreciate that. So, with that I'm just going to pull up a -- a visual for you all just to give -- I wanted to just kick it over to Bill to give kind of an update, you know, a rolling update on the Union 93 project and specifically to the Civic -- Civic Block. So, Bill, if you want to take it over. Truax: Yes. Thank you all for having -- having us on. We have had the opportunity to work with city and the MDC over the last few months -- it feels like a few months, but it seems like it's almost a year now. So , we have really gotten to know and love that area down there. Right now, just to give everyone a little bit of a status update on the Union 93 site, which is the six acre parcel to the south of the Civic Block, which is the source of the TIF revenue to fund the Civic Block improvements, the quiet title action lawsuit concluded at the end of June, so we are through that -- that portion of the process. We are awaiting one -- one notice period to expire from the Bureau of Land Management and , then, we will be able to move to closing. We are expecting sometime between August 15 and September 15, depending on how quickly we can move through the Union Pacific title transfer process. We have title in place and ready to go. The judgment was just filed I think this morning, so all of that is shaping up well that we are through what I believe is the risk portion of the endeavor as far as the site acquisition is concerned. One of the other key milestones that we went through is that Union Pacific had a regulatory restriction on the use of residential anywhere on the site, so we had to go through an extensive site diligence process phase one, phase two. The phase two did not turn out anything significant to deal with. There was some cleanup remediation required , but it's not anything that's overwhelming. So, we are continuing forward now and closing sometime between August 15th and September 15th. The reason I wanted to take a step back is that that, again, forms the basis for -- for creation of the TIP to fund the Civic Block improvements that we are proposing. To move one block to the north on the Civic Block side, we intend to submit for a tax credit application to IHFA . In the August round we anticipate submitting that application and, then, getting notice of whether or not we received an allocation probably in November, December on the specific uses that we are outlining on that project and dependent on whether we are successful or not , you know, it will determine what -- what path we move on -- on the Civic Block side, as -- as the proposed alternatives for the best fit that we see out there. Both of those, to confirm, our taxable uses. Both of those are going to have some use of -- some mixed use elements in them and that -- that will be something that we have ongoing discussion with -- with MDC and MDC for over the next, you know, month, month and a half as we prepare for the -- the application submittal. Did anyone have any questions for me on it? There you go. Arial: Excellent, Bill. Yeah. We will -- we will just transition right -- right to the Civic Block stuff, if you want to -- want to go into that. Truax: Perfect. Yeah. So, what -- what we are thinking about is how to successfully monetize that TIF across the project and what are eligible uses is a very paramount concern to us and to MDC to where we will be walking through -- through how we believe the financing structure will be optimally created to allow for -- for multiple uses on the site. In this specific plan that you are seeing -- and it's a very schematic proposal, just so that Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 6 of 15 we can get -- get a level of comfort as to what we are doing and proposing and , then, we will follow with the architectural detail and to go into the tax credit application if -- if this is determined to be a good fit for the Civic Block. So, what we are proposing as a compliment on the -- the Union 93 -- Union 93 market rate housing to the south, we are proposing a 40 unit light tech project for seniors that will be at the north end of the site. I don't think you can see -- at the northwest corner -- northeast corner of the site. That building would be proposed to be on a podium park structure and, then, immediately to the south of that there will be a little courtyard between the two buildings , but there would be another 60 units and that would be workforce housing , trying to -- trying to create an effective economic stratification. Again we have got to the south a significant number of residential units that are coming in that have no income restrictions. So, we want to provide some optionality for -- for folks who work in -- you know, teachers, admin, police officer, what -- other jobs that are -- that are definitely needed downtown. Create a nice vibrant fabric and framework for -- for the future of the area and, then, the idea is to create -- there is a -- an irrigation lateral that runs north-south on the property. So, what we are proposing is to create a green strip between there that creates a nice pedestrian connectivity corridor through and over the site. There were some earlier iterations that were provided by GGLO. If this is determined to be a good fit we will have those brought up to speed to match this proposal and, then, we will move forward along that path. And, then, to the northwest corner of the site is where we would propose to put the community center and, again, it -- it -- all of this is intended to be a cohesive and connected neighborhood. So, the -- the placemaking in the site planning will -- will involve a lot of communication back and forth between the buildings to make sure that none of the buildings feels like it's separate and standing alone with -- with no interaction. But it will be nice to have some spaces that are private to the individual multi -family components to the project, but the idea is to maximize the site entity of the -- you know, almost a city block worth of ground and replace the existing Centennial Park with more of a north -south oriented park corridor, rather than just a standing parkway that exists now. You can see the -- the parking ratios that we have got in there as well, that -- you know, that is still going to be an ongoing discussion and negotiation with the other stakeholders in this , because there will be a shared approach to parking between that site and the site for this -- the Union 93 site to the south. The last thing that I -- that I wanted to cover on this is that we are also proposing to bring in Terry Reilly Health Services -- wanted -- in our earlier iteration of the Union 93 site they were wanting to have a clinic space in there. We thought it might be an optimal arrangement to have it up in the Civic Block side of where we could bring in -- bring in their -- their specific stratified health service. So, they -- they have up to 200 percent AMI services. They have income graduated health services provided to folks and, then, that -- the cost of those services is based on income and, then, you have got a sliding scale up to 200 percent of AMI. So, we thought it's a fantastic addition to the area. You know, you can still go to St. Luke's and St. Al's, but for -- for many of the folks that -- that exist in the area it's a fantastic option and certainly would be walkable for anyone in that -- that rapidly revitalizing downtown core. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 7 of 15 Strader: Can we ask questions as we are going along? Simison: Sure. Truax: You have to from my perspective to what -- Strader: Okay. So, if I understand -- and, you know, I'm newer, so I'm still sort of following the progress, but it looks like some of the anticipated surrounding uses are changing. So, there was an auditorium and a school contemplated. Now you are considering a light tech project. Can you give us a feel for that use ? Is it 60 percent of the AMI? What are you looking at there? And, then, I would be curious if -- for the project to work -- second question. You know, are you reliant on a light tech equity investor and financing to make that happen or where are the pieces that need to come together I guess on -- on the other side from the developer's perspective to make this project work? Truax: The answer to a couple of multi-part questions. So, it is a light tech based application on the multi-family component there. So, if we submit to IHFA , there is a competitive process. If we are allocated credits we would bring on an equity partner. We work with equity partners regularly, so getting an investor and those credits is not a difficult concept. Right now the credit market is, like many issues in the market, sort of undefined. You get pricing that varies. To give you an example, downtown Boise we are somewhere like 91 or -- no. Ninety-two or 93 cents per credit dollar on the last funding round. In this funding round we would be assuming that there is probably abou t 84 cents is the market rate for those credits. So, you are not generating anywhere near the credit equity that you were, but there are still investors to buy those credits as the market stands right now. We would -- we would apply under that understand ing -- if there was -- if there was a larger market shift that became -- that made the program structurally unstable, I think that you would have the federal stimulus coming in, like in 2008, '9 and '10, to help create the credit equity via -- via some program, like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or something similar to that, because you -- you generally have a lot of support bipartisan to make credit deals work. They are complicated, so right now equity investors are going to pick the easiest deals for them to understand or the deals that have the biggest sort of story byline and I think this one has a fantastic storyline where you have got the MDC and the city and the Parks Department all -- all participating in a public-private partnership to get the development done. So, from -- from the ability to place the equity standpoint I don't right now see a big risk. It's more of can we get the sources and uses to work and right now short answer is -- is our model is working as it stands and tha t's assuming current credit pricing. But we won't know -- the biggest -- the biggest challenge with the credit application is that we won't know about the results until November or maybe early December, because it's a process that we could conduct. Strader: Mr. Mayor, follow up? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 8 of 15 Strader: Yeah. No. Thank you. That's helpful. I just -- part of my day job I occasionally work on affordable housing deals, so I know there is a lot of complexity. Maybe help us understand -- I just -- I think you guys wanted just general feedback. I'm supportive of -- of trying to have some, you know, more affordable type of housing, especially for workforce housing for folks that are working in the city that need to be close to downtown, I -- I think that we don't have enough of that. It makes a lot of sense to me. I think what would be helpful is I feel like we are making some kind of a trade off from maybe the uses that were previously proposed. Could you touch on what percentage of the AMI this project reserves and just give us a flavor if that serves that purpose or mission of affordable housing. Truax: So, it would be 90 percent affordable on the 40 unit project. So, 36 of those units would be affordable to folks 30 percent to 60 percent AMI. The other four would be unrestricted, mark every unit. On the project to the south that would be a 60 unit bond transaction and so those are going to be up to 80 percent AMI. The aggregate, though -- and when you take the entire deal back it's going to be an average of 60 percent AMI and it is -- it is different from the proposal in the past. The school concept created challenges that I think are -- are difficult to get around with circulation patterns and -- and that kind of thing. I still think that a school is -- is a great option. I just don't think that on this specific site that we could get the user that we needed to get it done. And to just provide a little bit of context as to the affordability, to this south we have got 330 units of residential or 345 units of residential and that's unrestricted to any income threshold. So, there is a very significant amount of residential addition in the space that -- that is not affordable. So, we are -- we are always sensitive to the amount that you are adding in there, because you don't want to have specific concentrations of it and I will add one -- one other thing, because you are specifically working in the affordable space. Right now they are in market on the equity side, two -- all but two big institutional players and buyers of credits exist in the market. So, they have all taken a step back. I think a few of them are coming back in, but that's Fannie and JP Morgan Chase. They are investing in one of the deals in downtown Boise. So, I -- you know, from -- again, from a risk perspective I can understand why -- why there is that question. We are hopeful that Fannie is not the only investor in the -- in the near future, but not sure right now. Strader: Thank you. Simison: Are there any other questions? If not we will continue the presentation. Arial: Mr. Mayor, that actually -- Bill and his team that -- that concluded the -- the presentation portion, so we would certainly be open to -- to any questions. We have myself, Ashley, Bill and Steve on the line to answer any questions that you may have. And, again, just open to your feedback and thoughts and we will go from there. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 9 of 15 Perreault: Good evening, everybody. Thank you for being here, Mr. Truax. I imagine there has been a lot of study done on what other cities have considered for their civic plazas or similar types of projects. What are you seeing in other locations in relationship to this? Truax: I think it's a city specific issue. I mean a lot of it is -- people -- people want to add housing to the downtown core. That -- that is -- is pretty common. COVID -- you know, in Idaho I think we interpret COVID differently and density hasn't been something that we are overly concerned about from what we have seen. But from what we see out there people want livable, walkable, as close to transit options as they can. Again, you know, COVID notwithstanding, because we don't know what that's going to do to public transport, but there is a big focus on the livability aspect of -- of these redevelopment places and almost -- almost all cities that we have been working with do want to see some element of office or retail added in, but they are sensitive, from what we see right now, to the issues -- and I will give you, you know, just -- out in Puget Sound where we have a development where it was 8,500 square feet of retail in a mixed use building, it got cut down to 2,000. You know, we may add that back in by the time you place in service , but right now as big -- that's impacting a lot of people's perspective or flavor in their perspective is how to add those in a way that is perceived to be financially feasible by, you know, typical lending and equity markets. So, we have seen cities adapting to that and -- and allowing flexibility on that front, but I think at the end of the day we all kind of want the same thing, we want something where you can walk to your hyper local stuff, but also being sensitive to the reality that some things may not be able to be built if we tip them too far one way or another. Fitzgerald: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Oh, yes, Commissioner Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald: I just want to just voice my absolute -- I was absolutely thrilled with this new setup, because I just believe this is what downtown Meridian has needed for so long for economic development and for people to be able to support the businesses around it. We just have always needed bodies down here and after all these years, you know, with MDC and so forth, it just makes me so happy. I know probably others are happy, too, to see the fact that we can have this many people frequenting our downtown. Simison: Thank you. For the record I just want to note that Councilman Cavener joined us at 5:00 o'clock. Well, I will take a second and share my feedback. I have shared before with a few of you, but a couple of the concerns I have with at least this proposal is that it's still leaving the -- that space in the middle where we have the lateral in place, in my opinion if we are making an investment in this type of -- size of this project that that should be removed and put into the street. I think that's an important infrastructure improvement that should be done at this time, rather than later when we have construction in the area, just so we have the ability to maximize the full space along this block and not something we have to go back and do at another time. I have also expressed my concern -- and Mr. Truax just mentioned it regarding some commercial retail, especially along Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 10 of 15 Idaho. I think Idaho is, you know, our main commercial street and having that essentially stop under this direction at the corner of the community center where we have an opportunity to extend it and removal of that lateral at least makes that a possibility in the future. If it's not part of this project at least another proposal to have that be part of it. I know there has always been conversations about what 2nd Street should be and while a pedestrian walkway in this project looks nice, I think 2nd Street can be the pedestrian travel walk space through the city. It may not ever be an 8th Street concept, but I don't think it will be -- it should be precluded as being that walkway through our downtown space. Again, I have already shared that with most of the people involved in the project, but just so it's on the record for the rest of you to hear. Commissioners, any other questions, comments? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: I guess I would be curious if it's, you know, possible -- the economics would work to use that lateral if the developer is open to leaving it open for some street level retail along Idaho, that seems like it could still be compatible with the -- with the residential project, maybe just a different story of the project. I guess that felt like a good suggestion. I would be curious if they have feedback on it. Truax: You know, we -- I know we have explored the -- the concepts various times. We will go back -- now that we are looking very very hard -- you know, as soon as we defined and knew that we could move forward on the -- on the Union 93 site to the south, all of it becomes a very significant reality, because, you know, all of the Civic Block issues are dependent on the creation of the TIF off of that project. So, we will explore that more. I'm not sure that I was aware that that was an intended thought pattern. I know I had heard about the retail along Idaho, but -- but not the -- sort of like creation of an 8th Street style approach. So, I will confirm and confer with our team and figure out what -- what options we have to go that route. You know, our application for light tech doesn't preclude any of those things from my perspective, because you are -- our -- our tax credit deals are still going to sit on a podium structure above -- above ground, so that -- that concrete podium structure can have stuff in it where -- certainly aware of the magic of a concrete structure. So, we will go back and explore that. As far as the lateral -- I mean doing the work is not -- not securing some -- some ACHD -- it's not even right of way issues, it's just easement -- confirmation that it's more of the question of whether the expense is rat ional right now or not. I think you probably can achieve the grades across -- going north to south if you shifted over to the 3rd Street right of way. The number I heard was about 300,000 to relocate it. That seems like an awful lot to relocate a pipe, but I have been accused of minimizing construction costs before, so -- but we will -- we will certainly go back and look at that and that would -- if we did approach the lateral that way, again, that doesn't change whether or not we can do a live tech deal or not, it just shifts the building over. So, we will -- we will confer on that and, then, we will respond formally. Evans: Mr. Mayor? Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 11 of 15 Simison: Mr. Evans. Evans: Thank you. Bill, could you expand a little bit on the community center portion of that project and maybe the intended use of the square footage for public use meetings and things like that. I mean there is a need in Meridian for that -- that type of space and just kind of what you envision it as like a two story building instead of maybe just a larger footprint area for large events? Truax: I would defer to Mr. Siddoway to respond to that. Evans: Okay. Siddoway: Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, I turned on the video. That's probably better for me to address. The -- so, the uses as currently intended have not changed and what I would draw your attention to and everyone's attention to is in the memorandum presented for this meeting the last few pages of Attachment E describe the vision and the -- the proposed building program for this structure. That is still currently our intended space layout plan. It's still subject to change as we get into design. As you know, there was a -- a concept design that was submitted with me -- the RFP that had everything on one floor for us and -- and much more of a street presence. It took up most of the site. Now, this would be a smaller footprint, but would go vertical and, you know, how that lays out I -- we don't know today. So, I expect that we are going to have more interesting conversations about the design side of this once we get through the uses side of this and are able to start moving forward again on the design , because the design aspect has been on hold while we have been going through the -- the formation of the urban renewal district, et cetera, concentrating on the uses for the site, but in terms of your specific question as to the -- the types of rooms and their sizes, I would just refer you to page ten and that -- that shows you what's currently on our plan. Simison: Council, Commission, any additional questions at this time? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And, again, apologies to Council and Commission for my tardiness. If this was already covered, then, I can just catch it on the -- on the YouTube replay, but I was only able to see the map for a couple of moments before it went away. My question is about land use for Parks. I mean it's very important that we maintain some level of park space for our downtown residents and I did get a sense of this that -- is this going away or is it remaining or being relocated and anyone who could speak to that I would appreciate it, whether it's Steve or Bill or Cameron. Siddoway: I was pausing for Bill, but I can maybe just initially say that what Bill presented there in the center as Centennial Plaza, you can see the nodes of green walkable benches, gathering areas, that is the intended open space for the site today. What you Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 12 of 15 may have missed with Mayor Simison's comments was he was just asking if the -- right now there is the Hunter Lateral that runs through that area and it is required to stay open. If that can be relocated as part of this project to allow that portion of the site to possibly be developed in the future, then, that was part of the discussion that was just -- just had. But per this concept that -- that central space is intended to be a plaza and, then, if the lateral is able to move, then, at least a frontage along Idaho would open up options for the retail space that the Mayor was talking about. Anything you would add, Bill? Truax: Just that we are also looking to vacate the alley if at all possible, so that it becomes more of a pedestrian use alley. Not a problem to keep it open, so that you can still have loading into the projects as necessary, but I think it would add a significant amount of flexibility to -- to that space as you look at connecting and programming for other downtown events that connect to -- to City Hall and along Broadway. So, just opening up the -- the foot flow. Cavener: Mr. Mayor, follow up? Simison: Mr. Cavener. Cavener: Steve, if I remember correctly right there we have got, you know, a basketball court, gazebo, picnic shelter, restroom, a small structure. We have benches. It is walkable. There is a little bit of green space. Am I missing other amenities? Siddoway: There is no actual play structure, but there is the Neos electronic -- Cavener: Right. So -- and forgive me for just asking the question directly, it appears that we would have less of amenities for the public with this project than we currently have; is that correct? Siddoway: Honestly, we haven't even talked about it. Cavener: Okay. Siddoway: I guess I what I hear is you are expressing a desire to have a similar amenity level, is that -- Cavener: I think -- Mr. Mayor. Sorry. Excuse me. Simison: Mr. Cavener. Cavener: Mayor, Members of the Council, Commission, I think -- I have always long maintained that our downtown residents don't have a lot of, you know, green space that is close to them, except for maybe Storey Park, and if we were to move forward on this it would be important to me that the park space that they already have access to should be enhanced, not restricted or reduced. Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 13 of 15 Simison: And, Councilman Cavener, yeah, long before I was elected I have always said that trying to find a way to replace this eventually in downtown could be part of what we do, it -- whether it's on this location or some other location I think is something for us to be mindful of in looking at. I mean we have -- we have a nice parking lot in front of City Hall that could become a great park someday if other parking was found as a way to offset. But -- but I think that's part of the conversation, part of the challenge for our parks director is how -- how do you find space in our downtown long term. Cavener: Don't -- don't even begin to assume -- sorry -- that it's an easy -- easy solution for sure. Simison: Council, Commission, anything else? Okay. Cameron, any last comments to close us out? Arial: Mr. Mayor, Council, Members of the Board, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much for the questions and the feedback. It gives us a lot to chew on as a partnership and as an executive committee to keep things moving. We will look to continue to update you at meaningful points in the process. You know, we do look to have design rolling forward in earnest and other things that will be important for you to weigh in on and, again, just appreciate the time and the feedback. So, thank you so much. Simison: Mr. Winder, we -- we have a -- the rest of our meeting to get to. Would you like to close out the MDC portion of this meeting? Winder: Sure. Yeah. I guess we would need to open it up to a board member to make a motion to adjourn our portion of the meeting. Basalone: I will make that motion, Dave. Bevan: Second. Winder: Okay. Was that Diane on the second? Bevan: It is, Dave. Winder: So, a motion by Commissioner Basalone and a second by Commissioner Bevan. All in favor say aye. Any opposed nay? The ayes have it. The meeting is adjourned for us. Simison: Okay. Winder: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Simison: Thank you, Commissioners, for your time this afternoon. Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 14 of 15 Item 4: Executive Session per Idaho Code 74-206A(1)(a) To deliberate on a labor contract offer or to formulate a counteroffer; 74-206(1)(d) To consider records that are exempt from disclosure as provided in Chapter 1, Title 74 of Idaho Code, and 74-206(1)(f) To communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. Simison: Council, that moves us to Item 4 on our agenda. Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: I move that we go into Executive Session per Idaho Code 74-206(a)(1)(a) and (1)(f). Excuse me. The second one is different 74-206(1)(f). Excuse me. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor, second the motion, with a question. We are not doing (d)? Bernt: Yes. We are going to move (d) to the 28th. Hoaglun: Okay. Thank you. Simison: I have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, clerk will call the roll. Roll call: Bernt, yea; Borton, absent; Cavener, yea; Hoaglun, yea; Strader, yea; Perreault, yea. Simison: All ayes. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. EXECUTIVE SESSION: (5:21 p.m. to 6:02 p.m.) Simison: Okay. Council, do I have a motion? Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: I move that we adjourn the meeting. Is it on? Can you not hear me? I move that we adjourn the meeting. Simison: A motion to come out of -- Meridian City Council Work Session July 21, 2020 Page 15 of 15 Bernt: Oh. I make a motion to come out of Executive Session. Sorry. Hoaglun: Second the motion. Simison: Motion and second to come out of Executive Session. Any discussion on the motion? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. The ayes have it. We are out of Executive Session. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Simison: Can I have a motion? Bernt: Yes. Now we can adjourn the meeting. Move -- Simison: Got a motion -- Hoaglun: Second. Simison: -- and a second to adjourn the meeting. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay. The ayes have it we. Are adjourned. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6:03 P.M. (AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) _______________________________ ______/______/______ MAYOR ROBERT SIMISON DATE APPROVED ATTEST: _____________________________________ CHRIS JOHNSON - CITY CLERK